Voice of the Customer Key Concepts

Think of the troubles we would have if managers and employees of our enterprise had different answers to the question, "What is 2 plus 3?" We take it for granted that everyone would give exactly the same answer: 5. To achieve this phenomenal consensus, we have all had extensive education and drill on basic math over many years. Sadly, we do not have this same level of agreement on the meaning of basic terms critical to organizational success.

Ask any dozen people in the organization who they think "our customers" refers to. If your organization is like most, you will get about a dozen different answers. If you don't think this ambiguity matters, read no further. Your transformation efforts are doomed to failure. No only does this matter, it is often a principal obstacle to all purposeful endeavors. But most folks can't see it, like the iceberg below the surface.

No significant organizational improvement or transformation can be sustained without a broadly shared language. There are several objectives for identifying and describing a few key concepts here:

• Impose a discipline on our language that is equal in precision to a simple mathematical formula.
• Remove the confusion inherent in basic terms we assume everyone understands.(e.g., service, customers, outcome).
• Demonstrate how you can test for common understanding.
• Accelerate your C3 transformation process.

-- Key Concepts --

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Measures of Satisfaction
Measurement is management’s way of saying “we care.” The values of the culture are reflected in both what is measured and how those measures influence organizational behavior, penalties and rewards.

The producer-centered culture measures the “cost to produce.” The customer-centered culture also measures the “cost to own” and the “cost to use” experienced by customers.

Organize measures by product. When one variable changes, it will become easier to see its impact on other measures of the same product. Consider which type of measure (nominal, ordinal, variation, relationship) is most appropriate for each variable.

A principle of measurement: the usefulness of a perception measure improves when explained by a performance measure.

Mission
Mission describes the organization’s purpose. Which of these four outcomes are the focus of your mission?
1. Outcomes desired by customers (especially end-users).
2. Outcomes customers want to avoid.
3. Outcomes desired by the producer organization.
4. Outcomes the producer wants to avoid.

Outcome
Outcome is the result achieved by use of the product. “Outcomes desired” refers to the purpose for the product. Outcome focus is the driver for innovation. Outcome is the ultimate purpose the customer wants to achieve.

Process
A process is the sequence of activities and events which creates the product. A process also represents a flow of products. The customer-centered culture manages the customer's experience with the process. Producers value productivity and efficiency; customers value responsiveness and simplicity.

Producer Priorities
Producers and providers of products are often concerned with process and acitivity; customers care most about outcomes or results they experience by using products.

Producer-Centered Thinking
The producer-centered organization focuses its improvement energies on processes. It assumes that effort will result in products with wonderful capabilities for customers. Customers are often undifferentiated, giving brokers the most power.

Product
BENEFITS OF DEFINING WORK AS PRODUCTS:

1. Reduces ambiguity in defining “what we do”
2. Creates a tangible link between process and outcome
3. Provides the basis for identifying who our customers really are
4. Shifts focus from “how” to “what”, keeping “why” in mind
5. Enables the measurement of the seemingly immeasurable (in terms of unit cost, quality, value, volume, timeliness, satisfaction, etc.)
6. Simplifies prioritization of work
7. Gives activity purpose
8. Improves accountability
9. Uncovers new sources of differentiation

Source Products
Source products include strategies, plans, and policies. They are produced by management. Source products are the directing influence on major corporate processes. They define the purpose or intent of the process. Most source products are created exclusively for internal use.

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